Hurry And Grow Up
by kittyallstars
Summary: I sank against the wall, my body shaking with sobs. Because, if I let go, the few walls still holding my world together would collapse.
1. Stand Strong!

_I sank against the wall, my body shaking with sobs. Because, if I let go, the few walls still holding my world together would collapse._

_**3 Days Earlier**_

I leaned back in my chair, staring up at the ceiling. My homework was done, my chores, and there was absolutely nothing to do.

"Amu-chan!" Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia all squealed at the same time. They flew towards me at full speed. "Help us!"

My little sister came running into the room. "Charas!" she cheered.

"Ami leave them alone."

"Aw," she pouted. "I wanted to dress them up, Sis!"

Something you should know about Ami is that she has full control over her tear ducts. She stared up into my face, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Stand strong, Amu-chan!" Miki yelled.

I chuckled and patted my charas' heads. "Come on, Ami. I'll make you a snack. Su? Help me with that please."

"Yay! Snacktime!" Ami (and not surprisingly my charas) cheered. I smiled and made my way to the kitchen.


	2. First Day of Seventh Grade

The next morning I woke up early for the first day of seventh grade. I put on my new school uniform and put my signature "X" clip in my hair. I stared into the mirror, looking past my reflection.

Who was I? I wasn't the great big sister for Ami that everyone thought I was. Not the 'cool and spicy' sixth grader anymore, not since I'd graduated into middle school. And definitely not like any of my charas.

Each of my charas is my would-be self. Ran, the hyper, over-active, pink-loving chara; Miki, the artistic, shy, fashionable chara; Su, a loving, motherly chara; and Dia. Dia was a different story from all of my charas. She was kind, and could sense happiness and radiance from someone's heart.

I wasn't like them. _**Will I ever be**__? _I thought unhappily.

Who was I? I asked myself again. Not Ran, not Miki, not Su, not even Dia. I didn't fit into these categories.

I blinked. How much time had passed? I glanced at my watch, and jumped to see that I only had 15 minutes. How could I space out for so long?

I grabbed my things and ran as fast as I could. I knew the way very well because I'd come to this school often to see my friend Kukai when I was in sixth grade.

"Amu-chan!" called Nagihiko, pushing his way through the crowd. It still startled me to see him, knowing that he'd secretly been my best friend Nadeshiko for two years.

_**All my secrets that I told her, the embarrassing things I blurted when we were alone, he knows.**_ I thought bitterly. No, I didn't exactly blame Nagihiko for lying to us; it just hurt to think that I hadn't really known Nadeshiko as well as I thought.

Nagihiko ran over to me, dragging someone else behind him. It was my friend Rima, an adorable girl with a fantastic sense of humor, and a need to make people laugh.

I smiled at both of them, happy to see people I knew in a strange place.

"Come on guys. Let's see if we're in any of the same classes." We ran to the billboard and looked it over carefully.

"Rima, you and I have science together." Nagihiko said. He smiled sweetly at her and I swear I saw her blush. I was still searching the lists for names I knew, when I heard another voice call out my name.

"Amu-chan!" I turned around, and smiled at the boy coming towards me. "Hey, Tadase-kun." i said cheerfully. I turned back towards the billboard as Rama pointed out something. "Amu-chan, you have math with Tadase-kun." Rima gave me a knowing grin and I blushed. Tadase and I had been going out for a few months, but I had liked him longer than that.

As Tadase stood by me, he held my hand. I blushed even harder.

"Hey!" Nagihiko said suddenly. "Where are your charas, Amu-chan?"

"They went to go visit Yaya to see how she and Pepe were doing." I told them. "…but they should have been back by now." I mumbled, more to myself than anyone else.

"I'm sure they're fine, Amu-chan." Tadase said, squeezing my hand for reassurance. "They probably just got sidetracked by a butterfly or something."

I laughed. "Probably." But inside I couldn't help but worry about them.

The day passed quickly, and it was a lot less torturous than I'd imagined it to be. Except that Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia still hadn't returned. That had me really worried.

"Where could they be?" I yelled when my friends and I were walking home. "They _definitely_ should have been back by now!"

Tadase put his hand on my shoulder. "It'll be ok, Amu-chan. We'll get everyone together to search for them."

I nodded, but inside I felt like screaming.

_**Ran. Miki. Su. Dia. WHERE ARE YOU?**_ I silently shouted.

_**Meanwhile…**_

Four little faces looked up to the ceiling of the small cage they were being kept in.

"Amu-chan. Save us." They whispered.


	3. The Text

I called Utau to see if she'd seen my charas lately, but she hadn't. I couldn't concentrate on anything. My grades started to drop because I didn't pay attention to my homework.

What could I do? It wasn't as if I could just put up lost posters of them, no one could see my charas. At least, no one without their own.

I was sitting down at the dinner table, exhausted. I'd searched all afternoon for them, screaming their names as I ran through the city. Ami looked at me with understanding eyes. Being a young girl, and not having realized her dream yet, she'd been able to see them. So she knew why I was so despondent. My parents on the other hand, had no idea why I was acting this way.

Mama set my plate down in front of me, giving me a gentle smile. We ate in silence, none of us knowing what to talk about. Then I excused myself and went up to my room. I walked to the balcony, and stared up at the sparkling stars.

I heard my phone give its little ring that meant I had a text. I ran to pick it up; Utau had promised to tell me if she found my charas.

No. It was from Ikuto. Or, to be more precise, Yoru. He was always sending me pictures of their travels. Poor guy. Someone needed to teach him how to use a camera. I smiled. The picture was of Ikuto boarding a plane. Ikuto's back was to the camera, I doubted he ever realized Yoru was taking these pictures of him. I blushed, remembering the time Yoru had sent me a picture of Ikuto sleeping.

Deep in thought, I set the phone down, not realizing I had missed something important. The text below the picture.

"_We're coming home-nya._"

**Hey guys! I hope you liked this chapter. Whoo! Ikuto's coming home-nya! Sorry, I couldn't resist putting the "nya" at the end of the text lol. Please review! I'd like to get up to at least 5 reviews or else I'm not updating! :P and no reviewing every chapter just so that will happen! I need at least 5 reviews, each from a different person. So review! I think in the next chapter I'll be writing from Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia's point of view! Or at least say a little about what happened to them.**


	4. AN

_**Come on people I already have the next chapter written! But like I said before, I'm not posting it until I get 5 reviews. Actually, I already have four.**_

_**Thank you to:**_

_**Ichigoxryou2**_

_**Anna Likes Pockysticks**_

_**Angel Of Music 12**_

_**PoopyDPoop**_

…_**..also thank you to Narutogirl101, who reviewed my earlier chapters and gave me some very constructive criticism and advice, which is greatly appreciated from her and anyone else.**_

_**So review! I just need one more ;)**_

_**Please and thank you,**_

_**kittyallstars**_


	5. CharaNapped

**Third Person's POV**

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Ran yelled to her sisters as she raced to the Gardens. She dodged trees and flew over bushes, and even almost hit a squirrel in her haste.

"Wait up!" panted Miki.

"We can't run as fast as you!" Su shouted in her high soprano voice, squeaking as she narrowly missed a branch.

Dia only laughed, and did her best to keep up with Ran. They all slowed down as they approached the Gardens. They could see Yaya there, watering flowers. Pepe was doing her best to help, squirting water at the plants with her tiny bottle.

"I bet I can beat all of you to Yaya!" Ran said suddenly, darting forward past the others. "No fair you had a headstart!" Su complained as she caught up with her sisters. "No, you were chasing that butterfly!" Dia giggled. They raced over to the Guardian, only to find they were going too fast to stop themselves immediately.

"Pepe!" They screamed as they crashed into chara and owner. Yaya fell back.

"Oof!"

"Sorry." Miki grinned. They pulled on Yaya's clothes to try and help her up. "You all are too competitive." Yaya grumbled. They laughed nervously. It was true, they competed in almost everything. Who was the fastest, who cooked the best, who could find a home for a homeless cat or dog, or who had the best fashion sense.

"We just wanted to wish you luck on your first day in sixth grade, and your first day as the head guardian." Ran told her. Yaya smiled. "Thanks."

"We'd better go now! Amu will get worried." Dia said.

They said goodbye and headed back. Su sighed. "I'll miss Pepe." She said mournfully. "The way she loves my cooking, especially my desserts, the way she lets me mother her, even the way she has tantrums."

"Come on!" Ran said cheerfully. "It's not like she died or anything. We'll still see her a lot, and next year she'll be in middle school with us!" Then she spotted something. "Race ya to that pole!" She called as she zoomed past Su.

They flew past a black car with tinted windows, which started moving as soon as they'd passed it. When they got to the pole they stopped to breathe for a few minutes.

"It was a tie!" Miki rejoiced. "For once Ran didn't win! Ha!" she stuck her tongue out at Ran. "It was _not_ a tie!" Ran argued.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was _too_!"

"Was _not_!"

They argued back and forth for several minutes, Dia shaking her head and smiling at them, Su looking behind her back several times. _Are we being followed?_ She wondered. People in important-looking black suits stepped out of the black car and walked towards the charas. She gasped inwardly. _That guy has a piece of lint on his suit!_ She decided she'd been wrong about them following when the FBI agents (Freaky Black Idiots) stepped into a nearby shop.

She turned her attention back to her sisters.

"Was tooooooooooooooo!" Miki yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Was noooooooooooooot!" Ran yelled at the top of hers.

"Was not!" Miki used her up-the-sleeve trick.

"Was too!" Ran yelled, then gasped and covered her mouth.

"HA!" Miki shouted triumphantly and leaped on Ran's back. "Now you have to give me a piggy back ride!" she said, tugging on Ran's ponytail. Ran growled irritably. "Fine." She flew off with Miki, a lot slower than before, but she made a lot of sharp turns so that Miki nearly fell off at each one.

Miki got off Ran's back and laughed. Ran laughed too and they both hugged. But then darkness overwhelmed them. "AAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" they screamed. The bag that they'd been tossed in was tightly closed, and jostled immensely.

The two girls hugged each other tightly. "W-What happened?" Miki whimpered. "I think we got kidnapped again." Ran whispered.

Dia watched in horror as her two sisters were thrown in a bag. But as she watched, she didn't notice a man in black step up behind her with his own bag, so she was caught completely off guard when she got captured.

**Two Hours Later…..**

Su drifted along in the air, tears falling down her cheeks. Those men had captured her sisters, and had taken her as well. But she had managed to escape. She always carried scissors in her apron pocket, thank goodness.

But she hadn't escaped before they'd taken her at least halfway across the city. She didn't know where she was, where her sisters were, and how she was going to get back to Amu so she could save them.

She rested on the tip of a street lamp, and considered her options. She could, of course, try to find her own way home; or she could try to find her sisters; or she could rest right then and there, because her strength was starting to fail her. she chose the last option, and rose wearily to her feet to find a place to sleep.

There were a number of allies, but they smelled, so she passed them quickly. She came to a tree with a hole in it, the perfect size for a chara. She went inside, shivering from the darkness. Suddenly she touched something warm, and she flew out of the hole screaming.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

She rested on a branch above the hole, and watched a furry squirrel come out and chattered noisily at her. "What were you doing in my home? Stay away from my kids! What are you? Go away!"

Su stayed quiet until the squirrel had finished its rant. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Squirrel." She apologized. "I didn't know anyone was living in your hole. But please, Mr. Squirrel," she begged, fresh tears in her eyes, "please let me stay in your home, just for tonight." The squirrel looked at her, and how tired and sad she seemed, and he agreed.

Su went in happily and made herself a little bed of leaves. "Goodnight Ran, Miki, Dia. I'll find you." She whispered sleepily.


	6. Shopping!

_**Even though **__**NO ONE**__** reviewed my last chapter, I decided to give y'all this one. You'd better review it though! Or else I'll know that my story sucks and I should just stop writing and my life and dreams will be ruined! No jk XD but seriously guys, I really need to know if people like this story or not. So just review, it honestly doesn't take that long. All I need is a "go girl" and I'm good! **_

I woke up the next morning feeling sluggish and realized I was late for school already. Why hadn't Mama woken me up? Oh yeah, she had to go to work early today.

I yawned, and wondered if I should just stay home from school altogether. But I would probably get in trouble for that. Mama had already dropped off Ami at school, Ami loved to go early.

I threw off the covers and went to go get dressed and brush my teeth. I ran a comb through my pink hair, then putting my fringe back with a clip.

My school uniform consisted of a white blouse, with a matching plaid tie and skirt. (**a/n picture on profile. It's actually pretty cute, I wouldn't mind wearing it.**) I walked slowly downstairs, grabbing a banana and my bag before heading out the door.

As I walked to school, I noticed dark clouds gathering far away in the sky. I hoped it didn't rain until after I got home, I hated walking in the rain.

My teacher was talking about something that was probably important, but I couldn't pay attention. I stared out the window, wondering if my girls were scared, alone, cold. A hand waved in my face and I jumped in my seat.

"Thank you Ms. Hinamori for joining us again." My teacher said, annoyed. "Sorry sensei." I apologized. He shook his head and turned back to the board.

I sighed and tried to listen to what he was saying. I noticed Tadase trying to get my attention from a couple seats over. _What's wrong?_ He mouthed. I shook my head at him to let him know I was fine, though I was hurting inside.

When school was finally over I ran to the Royal Gardens again to see if anything had turned up. The other charas had all been searching for mine since they'd disappeared. As I walked in, I could hear Kiseki giving another speech about world domination, but I could tell that under his fierce words was a world of worry.

Yaya looked at me hard. "Why don't you come shopping with me and Rima later?" she suggested. "We're leaving in an hour." I could see that she was sincerely trying to cheer me up, so I agreed.

**Two Hours Later…..**

"Omigosh look at that skirt!" Yaya squealed. "It's so cute! Omigosh look at this necklace! Even _cuter!_"

I hid a smile behind my hand. Rima just rolled her eyes and went to look at the comics.

Back outside, we walked slowly along the pavement, looking in all the windows at the beautiful dresses and trinkets.

"I think I'm done." Yaya sighed discontentedly. I stared at her many shopping bags. "Yeah, I would think so." She rolled her eyes. "I really wanted to get some clothes for my _hamster_, though. Poor Fuzzy." I gave her a look. "Where do you get clothes for a hamster?" She stopped and pointed across the street. "Right there." I looked at the shop. _Hamster Fashion_. I blinked. "Whoa. That was unexpected."

"I'll be right back!" Yaya said excitedly. "_Yayaaa_!" I complained. "I thought you were done!" "I _am _done! This just doesn't count!"

She ran inside and I sat down at a café table we were passing. Rima kept looking behind her back nervously. "What is it?" I asked curiously. She hesitated. "Well….there was a comic in that last store that I really liked, but I already got a bunch and I don't need that many."

I laughed. "Go and get it, Rima. It's not like you don't have a lot of room or anything." She nodded slowly, and then a smile lit up her face. "I guess I will!" she turned to go, and then turned back. "Will you be okay without me? I'll only take a minute." I nodded. "I'll be fine. But hurry, before I die of boredom!" she giggled, and ran off.

"Can I get you something?" a waitress asked me. "Um…just a cup of maca tea, please." She nodded and left. I sat down quietly, thinking about everything that had happened today. I jumped when I realized, _I'd been having a good time!_ What kind of person was I, to forget about my missing charas? I put my head in my hands.

The waitress brought my tea, and I thanked, payed, and tipped her. She beamed at me and went back to work. I sipped my hot tea slowly, wanting to make the warmth in my body last forever. I stared into the trees surrounding the small café, shivering from the ominous darkness that seemed to emanate from them.

A crack of thunder sounded across the street, a flash of lightning followed. The pouring started soon, and I ran under the shelter of the 'scary' trees.

I rubbed my arms; it was starting to get cold. I closed my eyes and waited for rain to slow. I heard a noise, and my eyes snapped back open. In front of me, was a man, no, a boy in dark clothes, with midnight hair and sparkling blue eyes. He grinned at me.

"Yo."


	7. It'll be okay

_**Well, at least I got a couple reviews for my last chapter; thank you to**_

_**xiannnz**_

_**Angel Of Music 12**_

_**Ok so I'd like to get up to 12 reviews before I update again, so just review and it'll be that much closer! ;) so here is chapter…..wait I lost track….um…I guess it's like chapter 7. So here is chapter 7! Enjoy! **_**R&R!**

**Third Person's POV**

Su flew around the city for an entire week, and she was mentally and physically exhausted. Not to mention she still had no idea where she was.

She didn't recognize any of the street names, and she couldn't simply ask for directions. She'd tried it once with animals, before realizing that they couldn't read.

All she wanted to do now was sleep. Sleep, and sleep, and sleep.

She flew into a little girl's house, and asked the cat that lived there if she could stay here for a while. The cat agreed, and in return Su promised him a can of sardines. For now, she collapsed on the corner of a soft bed, and drifted into dreams of her lost sisters and Amu.

**Meanwhile….**

Dia, Ran, and Miki had all been put in a tiny cage that was meant for birds, but the lock needed a combination to be opened.

"Who'd want to capture us?" Ran asked thoughtfully. "I don't think Amu-chan has made any new enemies lately."

"Isn't it obvious?" grinned Miki. "Someone has finally realized what an especially artistic chara I am, and they wanted to kidnap me to force me to paint millions of paintings so that they can become rich!" Miki smiled blissfully at the picture in her head.

Ran rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's say, theoretically, that you're right, and someone wanted one of our talents. One, we can't do anything particularly special, except maybe Dia; two, then when why capture all of us; and three, how did the guys that got us even_ see_ us? They didn't have any charas, we would have been able to sense the presence in their hearts."

"A-and where's Su? Where is she? What are they doing to her? Is she okay?" Dia started sobbing. Ran and Miki stared at her. This was the first time they had ever seen Dia cry. They kneeled by her and patted her back comfortingly.

"You know what I bet?" Ran asked cheerfully. "I bet that Su got away from them. You know how resourceful she is."

They all smiled, remembering times that Su had come through, clumsy butterfingers or not.

Ran turned Dia to face her. "It'll be okay, Dia." She said softly. "Believe it or not, this has actually happened to me before." Miki nodded. "Yeah. Don't you remember we told you? Yuu got a hold of us, but Amu-chan saved us all in the end."

Dia was quiet for a moment, and then gave them one of her sparkling smiles. "Yeah. I think we'll be okay."

Then a door opened suddenly. The little charas watched as a young woman stepped into the room. She looked at the little girls, smiling. And somehow, looking into those cool blue eyes, Ran, Miki, and Dia felt safe. But at the same time, they knew that this enemy was more powerful than any that Amu had ever faced.

_**Ooo wasn't that an awesome cliffie chapter? Ok yeah maybe should hate me for it. Or, you could **_**review**_** this chapter and tell me how much it sucked or rocked, cuz that'll make me update faster and relieve the horrible headache this cliffie is causing you. Cuz I don't care what kind of review it is, I just need them. But instead of hurtful words, some nice criticism or advice would be appreciated **_

_**Please and thank you,**_

_**kittyallstars**_


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